As Heatwave Starts, WE ACT Demands Action

New York is seeing the first major heatwave of the summer this week. Check out the this city guideline on staying safe in the heat and find your local cooling center with this map.

LIHEAP Funding Dries Up
Unfortunately, there is one source of assistance that vulnerable New Yorkers will not be able to rely on to stay cool. The LIHEAP program provides subsidies for air conditioning costs to help folks stay safe in extreme heat. For the second year in a row, the fund has run out of money before summer is even over, putting people at risk. Sonal Jessel spoke out against this extreme oversight in the Amsterdam News and News Nation, questioning why the state has allowed this fund to run out yet again.

Heat Discriminates
With extreme heat in the news, the WE ACT team has been talking to the media and reminding everyone that extreme heat is deadly and disproportionately affects people of color. Sonal Jessel was quoted in Yahoo News and the Gothamist and Lonnie Portis was quoted in The City about how New York City's heat island affect, the worst in the country, is unevenly distributed throughout the city. Annie Carforo spoke to The City about ways New Yorkers can stay safe in the heat. And Sonal Jessel was quoted in EHN about the importance of heat monitoring and heat policies that combat environmental racism.

TAKE ACTION: Demand NYC Do More to Address Extreme Heat!

With the first official heatwave of the summer, vulnerable New Yorkers are once again at the frontlines of climate change. The city can do much more to protect us from extreme heat and we're demanding they do just that. Follow these links to demand that the City enact policies to improve cooling centers, plant more street trees, and set a maximum indoor air temperature. Learn more about these demands and why they're necessary to address extreme heat.

NYCHA Announces Plan to Replace Gas Stoves Following Our Study

Great news from the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)! They announced the Induction Stove Challenge, expected to start this Fall, with a goal of replacing gas stoves with pollution-free electric induction stoves in 10,000 apartments. This announcement, which was reported in the Gothamist and NY1, followed our Out Of Gas, In With Justice study which showed clear improvements in indoor air quality in NYCHA apartments when residents switched from gas to induction stoves. It's also a critical step for protecting the health of New Yorkers in affordable housing and reducing fossil fuel emissions.

Check Out Our Next Climate Ready Workshop in Inwood 

Are you prepared to deal with extreme weather events and climate change in your Uptown neighborhood? WE ACT has developed the Climate Readiness Uptown Plan (CRUP) to prepare residents for climate emergencies such as flooding and extreme heat. Join our upcoming workshops to learn more about CRUP and the steps you can take to get yourself and your community ready. 

• CRUP Workshop: Dyckman Senior Center
  • Tuesday, August 10 at 6 pm at the Dyckman Senior Center at 3754 10th Avenue in Inwood

National Action Network Environmental Justice Forum

Peggy Shepard will talk about air pollution as she joins other expert speakers at Transforming Communities: Empowering Action for Environmental Justice, a forum hosted by the National Action Network. The forum will explore the intersection of criminal, racial, and environmental justice and highlight how communities of color are disproportionately affected by these issues. It will be in-person this Saturday, July 29, from 12:30 - 2:30 pm at House of Justice at 106 West 145th Street in Harlem. You can register to attend the forum by calling 212-690-3070.

Demystifying Grassroots Work and Litigation

Are you an environmental lawyer, student, professor, or even just curious about using the law and litigation to advance environmental justice? Then come learn about grassroots organizing and advocacy without getting into the weeds! We are hosting an online panel discussion and networking event dedicated to fostering collaboration between grassroots environmental justice work and mainstream green law organizations. Join us Tuesday, August 8 from 3 - 5 pm.

Kicking Off Harlem Week with Climate Justice

Peggy Shepard will help kick off Harlem Week by speaking about extreme heat as part of a Climate Change Conference co-hosted by the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce and the Columbia Climate School. The conference will explore the reality of how the growing risks of rising heat, more intense storms, and a history of environmental injustice continue to generate disproportionate climate impacts in communities like Harlem. The event will be August 9, from 5:30 - 8 pm at the 2nd Floor Art Gallery at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Harlem State Office Building on 163 W. 125 St.

Picnic with Carmen De La Rosa

Join us on Saturday, August 12 from 12 - 5 PM in Highbridge Park (170th & Amsterdam) for New York City Council Member Carmen De La Rosa’s community picnic. In addition to the Council Member, U.S. Congressman Adriano Espaillat and New York State Senator Manny De Los Santos will be there, along with special guest Manny Cruz! There will be music, raffles, and surprises.

Communicating Environmental Science/Comunicado Ciencia Ambiental

Reunise el 17 de agosto, 6:30 - 8 pm por zoom para desarrollar un electorado de Uptown que se movilice en temas de la justicia ambiental y motivado por una comprensión de cómo su participación en los procesos políticos puede conducir a mejores oportunidades económicas y de salud para ellos y su comunidad, y comunicar la ciencia ambiental de una forma inclusiva.

• Life Outside of Science: Did you know that Dr. Micaela Martinez is also a rapper? Check out this fascinating interview in The Story Collider about what science activists do in their extracurricular lives.
• Racial Gap in Air Quality May Persist Under Biden Program: A report that we co-authored about how the Biden administration's new screening tool for environmental justice communities fails to adequately address racial disparities in air quality was covered in Capital B and Berkeley News. 
• Lead Pipes: Lonnie Portis was quoted in this article in Staten Island Live urging the city to do more to replace lead water pipes and address lead poisoning.
• Smart Surfaces: The launch of the Smart Surface Coalition which aims to transform urban surfaces to reduce extreme heat, and which WE ACT is a member of, was covered in Government Technology, Columbia Business Report, and the Columbia Star.

Upcoming Green Institute Courses

WE ACT's Green Institute is offering a free course to become trained in Building Electrification Electrical Systems: Lighting, HVAC & Refrigeration as well as training for career advancement and job placement. Becoming trained in building electrification gives you the necessary safety and skills training to land new jobs in the construction industry and become a part of the growing green revolution.

The course will be held September 18 - 29. There are 3 upcoming information sessions on August 10 and August 23 to learn more about the course and answer any questions you may have! If you are interested, fill out an application and you will be contacted about next steps for attending an information session and the training.

Marileidy Pimentel Speaking at Climathon Peru

Marileidy Pimentel will be speaking at Climathon Peru 2023 on August 11, a virtual event designed to transform local citizens into climate entrepreneurs. Leveraging WE ACT’s historical body of work, she will be talking about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11, which focuses on making cities more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

REPLAY: Cumulative Impacts Webinar

Check out a replay of our webinar, Dismantling Injustice: A M.O.D.E.L. for Empowering Communities that we hosted with the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. We explored the Model for Optimizing and Designing Environmental Legislation (M.O.D.E.L.) that aims to provide a model of cumulative impacts bills that can be readily adapted by advocates and legislators at the local and state levels, following the groundbreaking law that we passed in New York and NJDEP passed in New Jersey.

Learning How to Stay Cool

We had a great turnout for our recent Community Cooling Workshop! Community members gathered in Harlem to learn what steps we can take to stay safe in increasing extreme heat and what policies New York must adopt to protect us from the deadliest impact of climate change. You can learn more about extreme heat by checking out our 2023 Extreme Heat Agenda (PDF download) and our extreme heat webpage!

New Episode of Uptown Chats Podcast Coming Monday 

Stay tuned for the July episode of Uptown Chats which will be released Monday! This month Lonnie and Jaron sat down with Louis Bailey, WE ACT's Manager of Membership and Organizing, and WE ACT member Flora Huang to talk about transportation justice. Check out all the episodes, including the newest one coming out on Monday!